VNA General Meeting May 26, 2021
VNA President, Dana Meier started the meeting at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Community police officer, Charmaine Sanders reported several shooting incidents had occurred near Valentine neighborhood in the past month – a shooting at the Shell station on 38th & Broadway, a shooting at Walgreens parking lot (3 people shooting at each other). There have been no police reports in the area since May 23. The Shell station business owner has since hired off duty officers to patrol the area and he reports a decrease in deviant activities. Neighbors at the meeting thanked the police for their work and asked questions. Questions and responses from Officer Sanders follow:
What more could be done to prosecute firearm use within the city? A: In Jackson County firing a firearm is not an offense in itself. A suspect must be identified and then a citizen must be willing to prosecute. Often people involved in a shooting are not willing to prosecute. Frequently the people do not trust police and the person knows the shooter and tell the police they want to “handle it themselves.”
Do police have any idea of underlying issues causing such issues on Broadway Blvd? No specific reason why a certain area is ripe with shootings. Police are aware of “nuisance” individuals and often when police arrest such a person, Jackson County judicial system is releasing the person before the police can complete investigation.
Can police close a street like 38th Street where bullets come through walls at apartment building? Closing streets has to be a neighborhood request and get approved by the city. Closing streets is a concern to the fire department.
How can neighbors elevate concerns about a specific location? The Kansas City Police Department website ( www.kcpd.org/Crime ) allows individuals to report suspected criminal actions. Officer Sanders also said she would pass along concerns she heard during this meeting to her lead Captain for consideration of investigation.
Safety Committee Chair, David Snodgrass, reported the neighborhood text sign up was in progress and two teams will launch this week. David encouraged interested neighbors to sign up for a text distribution team. Go to the Valentine neighborhood website and look at Safety.
http://bit.ly/valentinetextprint
Dana started a conversation about Valentine projects and events. Asking if people are ready to start to participate in events like Thirsty Thursdays and 4th of July potluck.
The Zoom connection failed and the meeting was ended for the evening at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Christine Gierer
VNA Board Secretary